Abdominal Exerciser Utilizing Musculature of Lower Body

ABSTRACT

The present invention is comprised of a frame having two upright side members. The upright side members are linked at their bottom end by a cross member. There may also be an upper member across the top end of the upright side members. A user of the device should preferably assume a sitting posture when initiating an exercise routine involving the device. At the start of the exercise, the user takes hold of both upright members and places one or both feet on the cross member. The user then elevates the foot or feet that is resting on the cross member off the floor by tensing muscles of the abdomen and lower back.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a personal exercise device for tuninglower body and abdomen without putting a strain on upper body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present state of the art in personal exercisers is replete withpersonal training devices. Due to the highly sedentary environment ofmany blue and white color jobs, personal training devices are viewed assaviors of the human grace, guardians of health and little miracles. Thepopularity of personal exercisers has not been lost on the market, andsporting goods manufactures have responded with an exceptional zeal.

However, some segments on the personal training market are notparticularly well served, in part because apparatus designers lackunderstanding or sensitivity to physical limitations of some users. Inparticular, survivors of certain upper body surgical procedures orsufferers of muscular disorders and injuries involving upper body, arenot able to utilize the majority of apparatuses that are widelyavailable on the market. The general inhibition arises from theoverwhelming need to utilize at least some portion of the upper bodymuscular structure to engage the muscular structure of any other portionof the body.

The close association of the abdominal muscular complex with that of theupper body is particularly challenging when it comes to isolating theupper body in prevention of further injury or in avoidance of painduring the recovery process. A good example of this predicament isexperienced by patients undergoing post mastectomy rehabilitation. Theseriousness of the procedure, and the frequent need for multiplesurgeries may leave all upper body muscular structure sensitive to painfor extended periods of time, during which, users may feel extremelylimited and inhibited in their physical abilities. Few devices existthat overcome this physical limitation and provide users with muchneeded freedom of movement without needing to suffer through pain ofrecent wounds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is comprised of a frame having two upright sidemembers. The upright side members are linked at their bottom end by across member. There may also be an upper member across the top end ofthe upright side members.

A user of the device should preferably assume a sitting posture wheninitiating an exercise routine involving the device. At the start of theexercise, the user takes hold of both upright members and places one orboth feet on the cross member. The user then elevates the foot or feetthat is resting on the cross member off the floor by tensing muscles ofthe abdomen and lower back.

The side members may have a slight outward bend at a point where theupright side members are adjacent to the knees of the user. The sideupright members may be perfectly vertical and parallel with each other,or they may have an outward diagonal orientation with respect to eachother.

The cross member at the bottom of the side upright members may be a barof the same thickness as that of the side members, thereby forming asubstantially U-shaped device. The cross member also may be in a form ofa footboard having straps or brackets or grid like surface, all tosecure users feet on the crossmember.

The intended use of the exercise device is to train the core abdominalmuscles of the user without straining the upper body. Most of thetraining is provided through the use of user's legs. The upright sidemembers serve to stabilize user's feet while these are suspended abovethe ground during an exercise routine. However, little or no liftingstrain needs to be exerted by the arms. Furthermore, while the exerciseis in progress, the user's posture may be completely straight so tofurther reduce the strain on the upper body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is front view of one of the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sideview of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sideview of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective sideview of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is another perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a sideview diagram demonstrating the use of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a present invention showing multipleadjustable elements.

FIG. 8A is an exploded diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side view of one of the preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, showing a multitude of adjustable elements.

FIG. 10 is a front view of another alternative embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the variousfigures are identified with the same reference numerals.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiment of the presentinvention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of thepresent invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact,those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading thepresent specification and viewing the present drawings that variousmodifications and variations can be made thereto.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar referencecharacters denote similar elements throughout the several views, thefigures illustrate an abdominal muscle trainer 10.

Shown in FIG. 1 are the upright side members 20, having a grip area 40,an upper end 42 and a lower end 41. The lower end 41 is linked by acrossmember 50. The sideview of the device shown in FIG. 1 isdemonstrated in FIG. 2, which shows the upright member 20, having thegrip area 40, the lower end 41 and the upper end 42. The length of theupright side member 20 is preferably between two and a half and threeand a half feet.

FIGS. 3 and 4 demonstrate several other embodiments of the presentinvention. Shown is one of the upright members 20 having an upper end42, a lower end 41 and a hand grip section 40. The hand grip section maythroughout the length of the upright member 20 to afford multiplegriping positions. The hand grips 40 may be an area of brushed steel ormay contain an additional gripping surface such as a rubber, plastic orsilicone.

Further shown in FIG. 3 is a 45° bend 43 of the upright member 20 atpoint 44. The bend 43 extends down to the bottom end 41 and is there toaccommodate the knees of the user, who would be using the device whilein a sitting posture. In most cases, human arms that are outstretched infront of a person who is sitting down, do not go past the knees. Thebend 43 compensates for the space taken by the feet of the user (seeFIG. 7) and is thus a more agronomically sound design. Without the bend43, the feet of the user would exert greater downward pull on user'sforearms, thus increasing the challenge level of the device 10. The bend43 may be of a substantially equal thickness as the rest of the uprightmember 20, or it may flare out towards the bottom end 41, as shown inFIG. 4. In FIG. 4, the cross member forms a wide foot support panel.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention. Shown are two upright members 20 that are lined together by acrossmember 50. The cross member 50 has special slots 51 for footplacement. The slots 51 may contain frictional surface or may berecessed to accommodate a user's foot with greater security or comfortduring exercise. The bend 43 is shown facing the frontal direction 60 ofthe device 10.

In FIG. 6, the gross member 50 is substantially flatter than shown inFIG. 5. The flatter crossmember increases frictional coefficient betweenuser's foot and the foot slots 51. Additionally, straps or 52 that areattached to brackets 53 assist with immobilizing user's feet during theback and forth rocking of the feet while using the device 10. The topsurface 54 of the cross member 50 may contain frictional elements, suchas brushed steel or silicone protrusions throughout the length of thecross member 50.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the best usage for the exerciser 10 is fortraining the abdominal muscles of a user who is unable or indisposed tosubstantially engaging upper body parts in inducing stretching andcontraction of core muscles. For such a user, the alternative is to morecompletely engage lower extremities of the body. Shown in FIG. 7 is theuser 11, presiding in a sitting posture on a chair 12, or any similardevice, while having knees 14 and feet 15 elevated off the floor. Theuser 11 must necessarily flex abdominal muscles in order to accomplishthis lifting maneuver. The user 11 maintains tension on the abdominalmuscles to build up endurance of these muscles. The exercise proceedswith the user 11 tacking hold of the upright members 20 with user's armsand placing feet 15 on the cross member 50. Exercise then commences withup and down motion 40 of the upright members 20, and with the rockingmotion 13 of the crossmember 50, while having user's feet 15 disposed ontop of the crossmember 50. During the exercise, the crossmember 50 iselevated above the floor during the entire exercise, or at least whenthe user 11 lifts feet in accordance with the arch 13.

The device 10 may be made from polymeric composite materials or lightweight alloys. Other materials used in construction of the device 10 maybe plastic, foam plastic and wood. The upright members 20 and thecrossmember 50, or either component, may be hollow or uniform. Thepreferred construction uses a substantially tubular structure for theupright members 20 and the crossmember 50, although any other structuremay be used as well, such as flat, square, or elliptical

FIG. 8A demonstrates each individual component. The upright members 20are shown to be comprised of three telescoping sections, with the topsections 27, the middle section 20 and the lower section 32. The hinge29, which may be a pivot hinge, or a bolt as shown, may also serve as anadjustment point for the extension distance between the middle section27 and the lower section 32, or a separate adjustment holding mechanismmay be present. The hinge 29 is held in place with a wingnut 26, oranother means, such as a pin inserted into the bolt (not shown). Thelower section 32 may additionally contain corner hinges 24 that permitthe upright members 20 to coaxially rotate toward or away from eachother (item 23), otherwise known as adjusting the pitch of the uprightmembers 20 with respect to the crossmember 50, to either accommodateusers of different sizes, or to add a degree of difficulty. Thecrossmember 50 may be used to extend or contract the crossmember 50 inthe direction 58.

FIGS. 8-10 demonstrate additional preferred, desired or alternativefeatures of the present invention. FIG. 8 demonstrates the device 10having upright side members 20 and a cross member 50. The upright sidemembers 20 may contain telescoping sections 27 that slight into oneanother for proper sizing of the device to a given user, or for stowage.A particular extension (or contraction) may be maintained through athreaded association among each member segment 27. There may also exista press screw or a spring-loaded pin on one of the members, thatcorresponds to an aperture on the other member that admits said springloaded pin. Such apertures may be set in a line of several apertures,with the spring-loaded pin being capable of adjusting of the extensionor contraction of the upright members 20 in the direction 22. Also shownin FIGS. 8 and 9 is a wingnut 26. The wingnut 26 is used in operation ofthe hinge 29. The hinge 29 is utilized to alter the angle of the bend ofsection 43, with the angle adjusted in direction 25.

FIG. 10 is an alternative embodiment of the present invention, shown isone upright member 30 that is intended to accommodate both or one handof a user. User's knees would be enclosed by within the aperture 61,with feet pressing against the cross member 50 that links two sidemembers 20. The side members are then linked to the upright member 30with diagonal sections 28.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure hasbeen made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

What is claimed:
 1. An abdominal exercise device comprising; an uprightmember having a top end and a bottom end, said one upright member beingin a substantially parallel orientation as a second upright member, saidsecond upright member having a top end and a bottom end; and acrossmember connecting said one upright member to said second uprightmember, said crossmember being substantially perpendicular to saidupright member and said second upright member.
 2. The abdominal exercisedevice of claim 1, wherein said upright member and said second uprightmember further comprising a grip surface.
 3. The abdominal exercisedevice of claim 1, wherein said upright member and said another uprightmember are further comprised of telescoping parts, wherein saidtelescoping parts of each said upright member capable of collapsing orexpanding a length of said upright member and said second uprightmember.
 4. The abdominal exercise device of claim 1, wherein saidcrossbeam capable of substantially immobilizing user's feet.
 5. Theabdominal exercise device of claim 4, wherein said user's feet areimmobilized using a frictional surface.
 6. The abdominal exercise deviceof claim 4, wherein said user's feet are immobilized using a bracketattached to said crossbeam.
 7. The abdominal exercise device of claim 1,wherein said upright member and said another upright member furthercomprising a bend, said bend originating from said bottom end andterminating along the length of said upright member, wherein said bendsof said upright members being in of a substantially parallel orientationwith one another.
 8. The abdominal exercise device of claim 7, whereinthe angle of said bend with respect to the other sections of eachupright member, may be altered.
 9. An abdominal exercise devicecomprising; an upright member having a top end and a bottom end, saidone upright member being in similar orientation as another uprightmember, said another upright member having a top end and a bottom end; acrossmember connecting said one upright member to said another uprightmember, said crossmember being substantially perpendicular to saidupright member and said another upright member; and wherein said uprightmember and said another upright member further comprising a bend, saidbend originating from said bottom end and terminating along the lengthof said upright member, wherein said bends of said upright members beingin similar orientation with one another.
 10. The abdominal exercisedevice of claim 9, wherein said upright member and said another uprightmember having a grip surface.
 11. The abdominal exercise device of claim9, wherein said upright member and said another upright member havetelescoping parts, wherein said telescoping parts of each said uprightmember capable of collapsing or expanding said each upright member. 12.The abdominal exercise device of claim 11, wherein an angle of said bendis adjustable.
 13. The abdominal exercise device of claim 9, whereinsaid crossbeam capable of substantially immobilizing user's feet. 14.The abdominal exercise device of claim 9, wherein a point ofintersection of said one upright member with said crossmember and apoint of intersection of said another upright member with saidcrossmember each in form of a hinge, each said hinge determining thepitch of said upright members.
 15. An abdominal exercise devicecomprising; an upright member having a top end and a bottom end, saidone upright member connecting to two diagonal members, each one of saiddiagonal member connecting on their opposite ends to another uprightmember wherein said upright member connected to opposite ends of saiddiagonal members being in similar orientation with one another and atbottom end of each said upright members connecting to a crossmember,wherein said crossmember being perpendicular to each said anotherupright member, and wherein said crossmember linking each said uprightmember.
 16. The abdominal exercise device of claim 15, wherein saidupright member further comprises telescoping parts, wherein saidtelescoping parts capable of collapsing or expanding said member. 17.The abdominal exercise device of claim 15, wherein each said uprightmember further comprises a bend, wherein the angle of said bend isadjustable.
 18. The abdominal exercise device of claim 15, wherein saidcrossbeam capable of substantially immobilizing user's feet.